Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Podcast Index | RSS
According to a recent poll, only 20% of American Christians say their views on immigration are primarily informed by the Bible. This is deeply concerning as Christians should endeavor to follow Jesus in every area of lives, including in our role as citizen. So, what does the Bible say about the arrival and treatment of immigrants as well as government’s role in security and national borders? How can we think Biblically about this issue and apply those Scriptural principles in our lives and ministries?
In this episode, I discussed this topic with Matthew Soerens. He is the US Director of Church Mobilization for World Relief, where he helps evangelical churches to understand the realities of refugees and immigration and to respond in ways guided by biblical values. He also serves as the National Coordinator for the Evangelical Immigration Table, a coalition that advocates for immigration reforms consistent with biblical values.
Matthew previously served as a Department of Justice-accredited legal counselor at World Relief’s local office in Wheaton, Illinois and, before that, with World Relief’s partner organization in Managua, Nicaragua. He’s also the co-author of Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis, Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate, and Inalienable: How Marginalized Kingdom Voices Can Help Save the American Church.
Key Takeaways:
- Link to Matt’s presentation on this topic.
- Biblical principle: God loves and cares for the vulnerable: the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner — and he commands his people to as well without caveats (Deut. 10:17-19; Ps. 146:9; Zech. 7:9-10; Jer. 22:3; Mal. 3).
- Biblical principle: We are commanded to be subject to governing authorities (Rom. 13:1-5).
- How Christians can hold these principles in tension in their role as American citizens.
- How churches can serve those seeking asylum in the US.
- Some generally accepted (proposed under the Bush and Obama administrations) ideas for addressing the U.S. immigration system.
- The history and approach of World Relief.
- My reflections on a recent trip to the border.